Truth Among Friends
by Aries201
Summary: After Dumbledore dies, Harry goes out to live on his own, and something happens.... blah, blah, blah. Just read it, will you.
1. Reunion

Truth Among Friends

Chapter 1

Harry Potter was shaken awake in the dark of night by Hermione, who was bending over him, grinning excitedly.

"Harry! HARRY! Oh, where have you been all these years? I've finally found you, oh, thank goodness! It's been ages!"

Harry, twenty-seven and living alone, sat up and groped around groggily for his glasses. "Wuzzgoinon..." he mumbled.

"Oh, Harry, don't you remember? After Dumbledore died, well, we came for you over the summer, but you weren't there! Oh, Harry, how could you forget what Dumbledore said? You didn't go back to the Dursley's to finish your protection that he placed on you when you were a baby! You weren't there on your seventeenth birthday, oh, Harry, this is terrible... you ran off and we never saw you since! It's been exactly a _decade_! Harry..."

Hermione was practically breathless. She kept muttering "Oh, Harry," as she bustled around, making tea for a very confused Harry.

It was true, Harry _had_ run away when Dumbledore died, and he spent ten years in a small house, recovering, getting his strength, and mastering magic. He was prepared to fight Voldemort, but something stopped him.

Now he realized what it was, and it was that he had not seen neither Ron nor Hermione. He needed their support, and more than that, he needed Ginny.

He knew that it was wrong for him to sometimes think that he should chase after Ginny, because Voldemort could kidnap her in order to get him. He wanted nothing to happen to her, and therein lay the strength of his love for her, a strength that not even he knew.

Little did he know that love would lead to Voldemort's undoing.

He was jerked out of his thoughts as Hermione handed him a mug of steaming ginger tea.

"Oh, I'd better get Ron, he'll be eager to see you again," Hermione said, and she apparated.

A few minutes later she returned with a grinning Ron at her side. Ron rushed toward Harry.

"Harry! Blimey, it's been ages since we've seen each other, mate!" He gave Harry a bear hug and stood back.

Harry grinned as well and Hermione poured Ron and herself a mug of tea.

Harry found this a good time to tell them what he had been planning to do for so long. Here he was, standing with his two best friends in the entire world, why not now?

"Erm, there's something I have to tell you," he began. "I-I am ready to defeat Lord Voldemort, but I couldn't do it all these years because I needed... I needed you, both of you, to help me. I need your support, I need your help. Being alone for this long made me realize how much I did need you." He finished, feeling slightly embarrased. He looked away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Hermione staring at him. Ron was looking at Harry seriously. There was no hint of amusement or any other emotion that crossed his face.

"Harry," Hermione said quietly, "We will, of course we will. We know how important this is to you. We promise, we _swear_ we will help you defeat Voldemort."

There was a look of earnesty on her face, and Ron was still looking at Harry seriously. Harry smiled. "I was hoping I could count on you."

They planned to leave in the morning, in search of Voldemort, using the evidence that Harry had tracked for so many years. They went to bed happy.

Harry rose early in the morning. "It's time, you lot. C'mon." He looked over at where his two best friends were sleeping.

They were gone.


	2. Do You Love Me?

Chapter 2

Hermione woke to be lying on a soft bed of leaves, with a face hanging over her. She jumped back.

"Ron? Is that you?" she asked.

"Yes, it's me, Hermione."

Hermione looked around her. "But—but where _are _we? Surely we aren't at Harry's anymore? We're sitting in a clearing! Ron, you—you! Where did you take me?"

"Somewhere far away, Hermione. I couldn't tell you what I am going to in front of Harry."

"Then what are you going to tell me?"

"I love you, Hermione. That is what I tell you. I love you. Now, I have a question. Do you love me?"

Hermione stared at Ron. How could he ask such a question? After going out with Lavender in their 6th year, and he had long since nursed a soft spot for the attractive bar maiden Madame Rosemerta of the Three Broomsticks. So how could he ask the question? Was she just part of a plot to get another? And _did_ she really love him?

She looked into Ron's face as she thought. She saw the eager look on his face. But she knew that you could force an expression or emotion on your face, but your eyes never told lies. She looked into his eyes, deep, deep into them, and she saw it there as well. And then she asked herself the question again; _did _she really love him? She thought about it for a long time, searching deep within her. A smile came to her lips.

"Yes, Ron, I do." She said softly.

She put her face forward and Ron kissed her.

Meanwhile, back in Harry's small cottage, Harry became upset and frantic, thinking that Ron and Hermione had been captured. Little did he know that Ron had spirited Hermione away in the night, he felt determined to find them. He grabbed his wand and his glasses off his bedside table and rushed out the door.

He believed this was the work of the Death Eaters, or maybe Lord Voldemort himself. He had spent the past eleven years hunting down the last Horcruxes, and he had destroyed them all but one. He believed it to be Hufflepuff's cup, but he was not entirely sure. He came up with a theory as he walked along.

It was this: Lord Voldemort or the Death Eaters had captured Hermione and Ron, and Harry would have to find the last Horcrux and destroy it. The he would hunt down Lord Voldemort and kill him, and the Death Eaters would flee, willingly releasing Ron and Hermione. It would all fit in!

Certain that he had found the answer, he grinned from ear to ear, although he knew his job would not be easy. But his grin faded away as another thought came to mind: If Lord Voldemort had come to kidnap Hermione and Ron, then why did he not finish Harry off before going? There would be only one explanation to that, and it was this: Lord Voldemort could not have come to kidnap Hermione and Ron; it would be the Death Eaters that did it. They would not have killed Harry themselves; he could faintly recall the words that were spoken by Voldemort in the graveyard in his fourth year, when _Priori Incantatum _had occurred, when their wands had connected: _He's mine to finish! Mine! _ Voldemort wanted to kill Harry himself, so he had sent his Death Eaters to find Ron and Hermione. He would not suspect that Ron and Hermione where with Harry, so he would use them as bait for Harry to come rescue them, then he could kill him! It all fit now!

Dumbledore's teachings, Harry observed, had paid off well. And he quickened his pace and set forth on his quest to rescue Ron and Hermione.


End file.
